Norway's innovative tire maker reTyre has cooked up what's claimed to be the first carbon-neutral tire. Debuting at Eurobike this week, the concept is made from 100% reclaimed materials – including recycled fishing nets and beads from body armor.
You may remember the Oslo-based company from the novel zip-up system for adding interchangeable tread skins to a base tire, which allows riders to tackle different surfaces without having to change wheels or tires. Last year, reTyre stepped up its sustainability game even further by offering a rubber-free wheel-wrap solution that's 100% recyclable.
With Eurobike about to open its doors to trade and public, the innovation continues with the unveiling of a carbon-neutral tire concept that "marks a monumental step towards sustainable tire production."
The casing is made using discarded fishing nets recovered from the ocean. Algae harvested from blooms in lakes and oceans around the world is used in the tread, helping to restore aquatic ecosystems and "preventing eutrophication and methane release." Para-aramid (Kevlar) fibers from used body armor that's recycled in a closed-loop process is incorporated in the beads and puncture protection. And the tire also makes use of post-consumer recyclate from "local waste streams with a low CO2-equivalent."
The carbon-neutral tire is at the concept stage of development at the moment, with reTyre giving no indication of production and availability timelines. It will be showcased alongside the company's current range of bio-based and recyclable tires – including a new City line aimed at urban cyclists – at reTyre's Eurobike booth in Hall 12.1 from July 3.
"The product carbon footprint of this tire is based on our third-party verified LCA [Life Cycle Assessment], including the end-of-life, which is how we measure all our products," said project lead, Friedemann Ohse. "Our production and transportation processes are optimized to be close to zero emissions. End-of-life is reduced to almost zero due to the recycling of the tires.
"The algae used in the tire has a negative CO2-equivalent, balancing any remaining emissions to achieve a net-zero impact. In this way, we have a carbon-neutral product without using any of the well-known shortcuts, such as carbon quotas, subsidies or other non-product related contributions."
Source: reTyre
